The Next Day…
Lasers flashed around him as he stared upwards and then everything turned black. He could see again, but everything was blurred then just as a few seconds ago, he blacked out. Everything was blindingly bright as he came around once more and he could tell he was screaming out, crying in pain but couldn’t stop himself and then he lost consciousness again.

There was a searing pain somewhere in his left side. He couldn’t move his arm. Was it still there? He took a quick glance. Yes, it was still there. He blacked out. There was an awful din all around him. What was it? He couldn’t remember. Where was he? Oh yes, in a battle. Blackout.

He was being lifted; lifted onto something. And now he was being carried. The sounds of battle were growing distant. And then the darkness engulfed him completely.

The next thing he knew, he was staring up at bright lights, blindingly bright lights with blurred eyes. There were no sounds. He blinked a few times and realized he was looking at a ceiling.

Slowly R.K. came around fully and he tried to sit up but the room around him span and he slumped back down onto the bed again.
His arm! He had a sudden panic and checked, only to find it was still there, albeit wrapped up in a sling.

“Welcome back.” A voice he recognized said from out of sight, somewhere behind him and slowly Padfoot walked into his field of vision around the bed.
“How long was I out?” Blast asked, his voice croaky and hoarse.

“Just a day.” Padfoot gestured to a medic a way of, summoning them over.

Blast groaned at the news. He lay there for a moment and then remembered why he was there as it all came flooding back to him.
“The battle!” he cried out, sitting bolt upright and hurting his injured shoulder. “The battle; who won?” He demanded.
“Relax. Nobody won.” Answered his friend who then added, Again.”
“What happened?” Blast eased himself into an upright sitting position, slowly this time as the medic came over.

“Ah, good to see you’re back with us sir.” He said, smiling at Blast who nodded in return. “I’m just going to take some readings if that’s alright.”
“Go ahead.” R.K. affirmed un-enthusiastically.

The doctor placed a band around Blast’s left forearm and started watching a monitor that showed the output.
“So, what happened then?” Blast asked Padfoot again.

“We carried on with the plan and it worked. We’d never have defeated them and they were getting nowhere either. So we continued as you’d started and escaped.” Padfoot sat in a chair to Blast’s right and the medic removed the band after writing down the results.

“This may hurt a little.” The medic told R.K., preparing a small patch covered in tiny prickle-like spikes.
Blast frowned, slightly worriedly at it but then said, “Oh well, no more than those lasers I doubt.”
The medic applied the patch, which turned out to be sticky, to the same place he’d put the band and Blast gasped quietly as the spines pricked into his skin.

A cable running from the patch to another monitor gave the medic some readings and he wrote them down then peeled off the patch.
“That’s all for now.” The doctor smiled at the head of the U.R.S. again and walked off with his notes.

Blast waited a few moments after the man had gone and then continued his conversation.
“Hm… Any other casualties of note?”
“None sir.”
“Good.” Blast ran a hand through his hair.
“But running away does mean we’ve lost them again.” Pointed out Padfoot.
“What would you have done?” Blast turned to look at him. “If we hadn’t gotten away we would have all perished.”
Padfoot made a face that said ‘S’pose so.’

“And besides, Iadsgb as good as told me where they’re headed.” R.K. looked straight ahead again to the other side of the ward.
Padfoot frowned. “When? Where?”
“In the town. Just before they attacked us. He made a joke, a sick joke in fact but I could tell he was telling the truth. He said ‘All we needed were a few lab rats to test our chemical on.’” Blast looked back down to his side then swiveled himself round and hung his legs over the edge of the bed in front of his second in command.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I follow.” Padfoot asked, confused.

“The F.I.S. were working on a chemical weapon on Racshaw at the start of the war. We went along and bombed the facility. Thinking we’d destroyed both the chemical and it’s creator, we thought no more of it, we knew however of a second facility on a tiny asteroid but we’d heard tales of a leak and believing we’d killed the only man who knew the formula, we left it well alone. Now however, Biosnake is back and it appears they’re testing it again.” Blast explained the story.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Padfoot bit his lip, thinking.

“No. We’ve got to stop them getting their hands back on that chemical. If they get it, it won’t be long before they’re capturing civilians to test it on and I can’t let that happen.” Blast made to get up then realized something and peered under the sheet covering his lower half.
“Find me some underwear will you?” He asked Padfoot, smirking and his friend smiled back and got up to go and search for some.

Meanwhile in the deep reaches of space, The Desolation and The Calm Before The Storm reappeared from hyperspace, coming up on a small steroid field.

“We’re approaching the field now sir.” The head captain informed Jamie Clift on the bridge of the F.I.S. flagship. Clift turned to Fixer who had just entered the room.
“Ah Fixer, fetch Iadsgb would you please. Tell him we’ve exited hyperspace.”
“Will do.” Fixer answered and turned back the way he’d come out of the door.

He knocked on Iadsgb’s door and when the voice inside called “Enter.” Opened the door and walked in.

“We’ve reached the asteroid field sir.”
“Ah good. Thank you.” Iadsgb was sat at his desk, writing something in a notebook which he shut before standing and leaving the room with his comrade.

Balitron 7 was right in the centre of the asteroid field and so no large ships could get near to it. The barren moon of Vulcont circled the whole field and so the two F.I.S. cruisers anchored themselves to that.
The base on Balitron 7 was nowhere near big enough for the entire army so it was decided that only the leaders would go.

Iadsgb led Jamie, Stallion, Fixer, Rogue, Callum, Eve and of course Biosnake to the hanger bay where they entered a shuttle and jetted out into the midst of the asteroids.

Jamie and Fixer piloted the shuttle between them and weaved the small ship in and out of the floating rocks.

“There it is.” Fixer commented aloud as their destination appeared up ahead of them.
“Good. And don’t forget to wear your gas masks, everyone. We have no idea how bad the leak was, how long it leaked for or even what it does to people so don’t take any chances.” Iadsgb reminded them all.

He himself had brought along his own helmet, which he barely ever wore, just to be on the safe side.

There was a general agreement of Yes’s and Yes sir’s and after just a short time, the shuttle touched down on one of only two small landing pads at the facility. The one they were on was at the rear and the other was the main entrance at the front.

“Gas masks on people.” Iadsgb said as he placed his helmet on his head and attached his own gas mask. The others did as instructed as Fixer turned off the shuttle’s engines and opened the boarding ramp.

“Let’s get this done as quickly as possible, people.” Iadsgb told them as they walked down onto the pad. “Biosnake, lead the way.”
The mad Captain grunted, a strange, threatening, mechanical sound and stormed off ahead of everyone. The mad scientist appeared not to need a gas mask, his cyborg robotics must have prevented him from inhaling anything harmful.

“I hope he knows what he’s doing.” Rogue muttered to Callum as they jogged after him.
“He should do; he created the stuff!” Callum pointed out and Rogue made a non-committal noise in response.

BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT? FIND OUT IN PART 8! COMING MONDAY 27TH MAY!

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